“In '97, [when] we were lucky enough to play Croke Park, the stadium was under construction,” Brooks said in a statement. “130,000+ of some of the greatest fans in the world. I was quoted then as saying, 'When this stadium is finished, I would love to come back and try to fill it again... this time to the brink.' ... and we're back to do just that.”

Brooks retired from touring in 2001, saying he wanted to devote himself to his three daughters until each was ready to go to college. He accepted an offer from hotel magnate Steve Wynn to appear periodically at his Wynn Encore Theatre in Las Vegas for a four-year solo residency because he was able to schedule those performances around his daughters’ school activities.

Now he’s returning to action, having recently released an eight-disc box set, “Blame It All on My Roots,” inspired by the Las Vegas performances in which he shared with audiences the music that inspired and influenced him growing up. Four discs in the set, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, are new studio recordings of many of his favorite songs by other artists. It has sold more than 800,000 copies in the U.S. since its Nov. 28 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Earlier this month, Brooks returned to the Wynn for performance Jan. 4 and 5 with his full band as a preview of the upcoming tour.

Tickets for the Croke Park shows will go on sale Jan. 30 through Ticketmaster.

It’s official: Garth Brooks’ self-imposed hiatus from touring is over, and the country superstar will return to the road for a world tour in 2014, his first since he announced his plan to quit touring in 2001.

Just as Tina Turner always boasted that she never does anything nice and easy, Garth Brooks never does anything small. So in capping his residency in Las Vegas, the biggest-selling country performer of all time has assembled a new eight-disc box set inspired by his relatively intimate one-man shows...

Fans who saw the last show of U2’s North American tour Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City had an incredible bit of luck. For one thing, Bill Clinton was in the house, but blessedly refrained from sitting in on saxophone.

Fans who showed up Wednesday night in New York to see U2 tribute band Unforgettable Fire got more than their money’s worth when members of the real U2 — guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton — joined the performance.